Major studies have found that IBM can store 1-bit data on a single atom

IBM researcher Chris Luts stands next to a microscope he and his colleagues use to store 1 bit of data on a single atom

On the afternoon of March 9, IBM announced that it could store 1-bit data on a single atom. Although this groundbreaking study has not been validated in practice, it has led the industry in research. IBM recently published research results in the academic journal Nature.

It is understood that before a hard disk storage 1 bit data (0 or 1), takes up about 100,000 atomic space. However, on Wednesday, the IBM Institute announced that they have achieved an unprecedented record of magnetic recordings on a single holmium atom (element 67, symbol Ho), elevating the storage density to a completely new order of magnitude. Modern mobile devices can store personal music on a single coin, but IBM's technology can plug in Apple's complete music library (26 million tracks).

Single atom storage schematic

It works by placing a holmium atom (a large atom with many unpaired electrons) on a magnesium oxide substrate. Under these conditions, the atom has the so-called "magnetic bistability": when the atoms are in two different spin states, they respectively correspond to two stable states in the magnetic field.

Researchers used a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to apply about 150 millivolts of 10 micro-amps on the atom. Current into the holmium atoms can make it change its spin state. Since both states have different conductivities, the STM tip can detect the state of the atom by applying a lower voltage (about 75 millivolts) and measuring its resistance.

To confirm that the holmium atom changed the magnetic state, rather than being disturbed or affected by the STM current, the researchers set up an iron atom nearby. Iron atoms are affected by the magnetism of their neighboring atoms, which behave differently when holmium atoms are in their different states. This proves that experiments really store data permanently in a single atom and can be measured indirectly.

But IBM researcher Chris Lutz said the basic research could be decades away from commercial.

To make the technology a reality, IBM must make the manufacturing of atomic-scale storage devices cost-effective, fast enough to read and write data, and be stable over the long term. At present, this experimental technique can only be stored for several hours, but the actual application should be stored for at least several years.


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